Ganache-glazed Chocolate Cake with Raspberry Buttercream

Happy Valentine's Day!  I hope your sweetie showers you with a gift of chocolate, raspberry, and chocolate ganache ... maybe with pink and red and white jimmies on top.  Or make this cake for someone you love - they won't soon forget it - they may even thank you with a great big hug and a kiss!

Chocolate Cake

from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

For the cake:
3/4 Cup Dark Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1 1/4 Cups Hot Water
2/3 Cup Sour Cream
2 2/3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1/2 Tsp Salt
3/4 Cup or 1 1/2 Sticks Unsalted Butter, softened
1/2 Cup Vegetable Shortening (or substitute softened butter)
1 1/2 Cups Granulated Sugar
1 Cup Firmly Packed Dark Brown Sugar
3 Large Eggs, room temperature
1 Tablespoon Pure Vanilla Extract


1. Preheat the oven to 325F.  Spray three 8- or 9-inch round cake pans with cooking spray, line the bottoms with parchment paper and then spray the parchment.  Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl combine the cocoa, hot water and sour cream. Whisk together and set aside to cool.

3. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

4. Add the butter and shortening to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle and beat on medium until light and fluffy - about 5 minutes. Add the sugars and beat for another 5 minutes until light and fluffy.

5. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and beat until combined. Give the sides of the bowl a scrape and give one last mix for 30 seconds.

6. Add the flour mixture in three additions alternating with the cocoa mixture in two additions, starting and ending with the flour.

7. Divide the batter equally among the three pans and smooth the tops. Bake for 35 to 4o minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool the cakes in the pans on a wire rack for 20 minutes before removing cake from the pans to cool completely.  Wrap the cake layers and freeze for 30 minutes or up to one week.  Allow to thaw slightly before applying icing.

Raspberry Buttercream

adapted from Katherine Seeley/Fine Cooking

Yields 7-1/2 to 8 cups enough to fill and frost a 9-inch four-layer cake or about 5 dozen cupcakes

5 large egg whites
1-1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbs. light corn syrup
1 lb., 4 oz. (2-1/2 cups) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup raspberry puree, strained

Place the egg whites in the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whisk on medium-high speed until foamy. Sprinkle in 6 Tbs. of the sugar and beat on high speed to medium peaks (the whites should be smooth, full, and shiny, and the peaks should curl a little). Turn off the mixer.

Combine the remaining 3/4 cup plus 2 Tbs. sugar and the corn syrup in a medium (3-quart) saucepan over medium high heat, stirring briefly to dissolve the sugar. Continue to cook just until the mixture comes to a rolling boil.

Immediately remove the syrup from the heat, turn the mixer onto medium-high speed, and slowly pour the syrup down the side of the bowl in a steady stream, being very careful not to let the syrup hit the whisk.

Reduce the speed to medium and continue whisking until the whites are barely warm, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the butter 1 Tbs. at a time. Add the vanilla and continue beating until the frosting is smooth and creamy.  Add raspberry puree and beat until combined.  Add additional pink food coloring if desired.  Use at room temperature.

Chocolate Ganache Glaze
from Allrecipes.com via Sweetapolita.com

9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup heavy cream

Place the chocolate in a medium heat-proof bowl.  Place the heavy cream in a small saucepan and heat until the cream starts to bubble at the perimeter and feels hot to the touch.  Pour the heavy cream over the chopped chocolate and let it sit for one minute.  With a whisk, begin whisking the mixture in the center and continue outward until the mixture is shiny and smooth.  Allow to cool 15 minutes before using.  Pour the ganache on top of the cake about 1/4 or 1/3 at a time and use a large offset spatula to cover the top and as the ganache drips down the sides of the cake, carefully spread it around the sides in a thin layer.  Decorate with jimmies.